Photo Credit: St. Louis Brewery/Schlafly Beer

Craft with a conscious. It’s the phrase commonly found on the underside of Schlafly Beer bottle caps, and it captures the essence of a brewery that recently celebrated 25 years in the business. Schlafly is Missouri’s largest locally-owned and independent craft brewery, and it’s dedicated to upholding the craft brewing industry values consisting of community, sustainability and innovation.

Schlafly produces roughly 60,000 barrels of beer annually, including more than 60 varieties. In fact, in 2016 alone, the brewery used 102 hop varietals, 77 malts and grains, 59 different spices and fruits, and 10 different yeast strains to make its beers. Here are six warm-season selections that represent Schlafly’s brewing style, ranging from a classic lager to hoppy wheats to IPAs.

Summer Lager

ABV: 4.5% | IBU: 17

Baseball. Picnics. Patios. The sessionable, Helles-style beer is a bright and golden, wholly representative of what summertime should taste like. The malts impart a fresh grain character, while the German Noble hop, Mittelfrüh, lends a mild spicy, lemony flavor.

Pairs well with sunshine.

Raspberry Hefeweizen

ABV: 4.1% | IBU: 16

The creation of Schlafly’s Raspberry Hefeweizen involves adding pureed raspberries during fermentation without any added extract or sugar. The result is a slightly sweet, lightly tart, earthy and fresh Hefeweizen. The beer pours with a noticeable hazy, pink hue, which allows your eyes to anticipate this summer in a bottle before it’s even tasted.

Hoppy Wheat

ABV: 5% | IBU: 25

For Schlafly fans, one will notice this is a new take on the old Yakima Wheat. However, the new version continues to showcase hops from the ever-popular Washington’s Yakima River Valley. The Schlafly unfiltered, hoppy wheat relies on two distinctly aromatic American hops: Challenger (for its fruity, floral profile) and Mosaic (for its earthy notes of pine and citrus). Additionally, the wheat and barley provide hints of toffee sweetness. The ingredients merge into one refreshing ale with a crisp, clean finish and a hoppy bite.

Rye IPA

ABV: 7.2% | IBU: 65

Schlafly loves to flex its IPA-creative muscles, from fruit and malty variations to rye. Up front, the beer is all IPA, with lovely bitterness on the nose provided by Simcoe and Galaxy hops (brewed at the beginning of the boil and again in the dry-hopping process). But then, as the beer goes down the gullet, the rye shines. The finish is superbly complex with bitter and rye duking it out for palate supremacy – it’s a draw. The drinker is the winner, here.

Black IPA

ABV: 7% | IBU: 50

Black IPAs don’t receive much love within the craft beer world. One brewing friend of mine absolutely abhors the style. But, for the rest of us, Black IPAs are a hop head’s malty best friend. Hoppy aroma greets the nose and remains noticeable from start to finish. The malt, though comes in at the middle and provides the perfect compliment to the hoppy bitterness. Also, Schlafly’s version involves an ever-so-subtle dryness that I can really appreciate.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSpPCxMDh5Z/?taken-by=powers_mathew&hl=en

Grapefruit IPA

ABV: 5% | IBU: 40

Beer geek reviews of this beer run the gambit. Not surprising, given the style of beer, but make no mistake, the beer is made well and its flavor pleases many drinkers.

From the brewer’s notes, “We like to make the distinction that this a fruit beer- not a fruit-flavored beer- whose wort is mixed with pounds of grapefruit puree to allow the sugar to ferment out, leaving the tropical aromas of the fruit. We choose to use American Chinook, Cascade and Citra hops for their distinct citrus and floral attributes, and American ale yeast that brings a layered fullness to the beer, making this dry-hopped IPA notable for its bold flavor, tart characteristics, and approachable hoppiness.”

For this writer, the beer enjoys nice citrus tartness that gives an otherwise classic IPA a nice little summer zing. Refreshing, flavorful, and wonderfully aromatic.

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